


The Tale of Babbitty Rabbitty

by aykayem



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Reading Aloud
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 13:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4669091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aykayem/pseuds/aykayem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco's never really read the Tales of Beedle the Bard, but that doesn't stop him from reading them to his son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tale of Babbitty Rabbitty

There were a number of reasons why the copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ currently located in Draco Malfoy’s hands was brand new, barely cracked open and certainly never smudged by the tiny fingers of children. The first was that Draco had never been read the stories as a child, despite the fact that most wizarding children of his generation had.

His father had been a bit rabid about his thoughts on some of the content, suffice to say.

Draco, however, had resolved to at least _try_ when it came to some of these things. Astoria had also made it abundantly clear from the very start of their relationship that, while she was sure Lucius and Narcissa were fine parents, their child would be raised rather differently. Draco hadn’t bothered to think about what it meant that she was already so vehement about these things, but simply went with it, as he imagined every intelligent husband would.

Naturally, that is where our brief tale begins, give or take a bit.

“Babbitty Rabbitty!” Scorpius declared, gripping his hippogriff plush tighter to his chest. As always, Draco eyed the thing with thinly-veiled disdain, wondering once again why someone thought it might be cute to provide his son with probably the one magical creature Draco couldn’t stand, and began flipping through the book with a sigh.

“You’re certain? You know there are plenty of other stories. You don’t _have_ to hear the same one every night,” the elder Malfoy replied with a touch of weariness, as he shifted back to better curl up with his young son. Scorpius made a face at his father and scooted closer, cozying into the safety of Draco’s side, hippogriff still defending him from the front.

“Babbitty Rabbitty,” the boy replied more stoically, something in his expression now oddly serious as he stared up at his father. There was clearly no arguing.

Draco merely arched his brows at the expression, barely managing to suppress a chuckle, and made a note to relay the tale of Scorpius’ serious vehemence in regards to bedtime routine to Tori later on. She’d probably find it hilarious. He finally found the page in question and cracked the book open properly, shifting to balance it against his knee so they could both see the illustrations and the words that went along with them. Words that had, in fact, been set to paper by one of Draco’s former classmates. A fact that he still found slightly odd and mildly disconcerting. It almost disinclined him to buy it, but in the end, the notion of exposing his child to what was generally a widely-accepted class won out. That, and Tori made certain he did so. Suffice to say, his issues with Hermione Granger - mild though they might have been after all those years - were not getting in the way of things today.

“A long time ago,” Draco began the story, watching out of the corner of his eye as the young boy lit up once again. The story hadn’t changed at all between readings, nor did Draco change much about his performance, but he always read with such natural dramatic talent that Scorpius ended up riveted the entire time. Maybe he just liked the story so much that nothing and no one could ever ruin it for him, but Draco definitely liked to think that the voices he provided for each character brought something to the tale. Scorpius never corrected him anyway.

It was, though, a good story for the young wizard to hear, Draco thought as he offered up a rough approximation of Lune Lovegood’s breathy tones, albeit at a lower register, for the voice of the charlatan. Though he had never heard it himself as a child, the message seemed like a good one. Maybe Draco wouldn’t have even realised it at the time, had his mother bothered to ignore Lucius’ wishes and familiarise him with the magical Bard’s work - and that was, in truth, the more likely outcome - but that didn’t change the meaning that came through now as he continued to read aloud.

Scorpius Malfoy was growing up in a slightly more enlightened era, though, with parents who wanted to make sure he grew up well-rounded and well-adjusted and well-loved. Whatever else happened, Draco simply wanted to make sure he could avoid the problems that arose in his own life; he simply wanted to protect his son from whatever came their way. And as the young boy squealed his delight at Babbitty Rabbitty’s escape and the subsequent end of magical persecution, clinging a little tighter to his beloved hippogriff plush, Draco thought that they might be well on their way to that happy end.


End file.
